Receptacle-closure.



C. R. KEERAN.

RECEPTACLE CLOSURE.

APPLICATION msn ocT. 9, 1914.

Patented Apr. 25, 1916.

Zin/en or Charles R heeran CHARLES R. KEEBAN, 0F BLOOMING-TON, ILLINOIS.

RECEPTACLE-CLOSURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 25, 1916.

Application led October 9, 1914. Serial No. 865,863.

T 0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. KEERAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bloomington, in the county of McLean and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Receptacle- Closures, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a closure or cover more particularly adapted and arranged to carry a gasket which coperates with the walls of the mouth of the receptacle to create a vacuum seal.

The objects of the present invention are to so arrange the seat for the gasket as to insure a. tight and proper engagement between the mouth of the receptacle and the gasket and a consequent efficient seal no matter whether the walls of the mouth of the receptacle be of correct contour or not.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cover of the character specified which is cheap and simple of construction and easy of operation.

A further object of the invention is to congure the cover in a manner whereby the vacuum seal may be readily and quickly broken by means of an ordinary kitchen implement as for instance a fork.

The invention further consists in the features of 'construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a sectional view of the neck of a receptacle showing the closure of the present invention in operative position; Fig. 2 is a bottom view osaid closure; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail showing the closure with the gasket therein prior to the sealing operation; and Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the position of the parts after the seal is formed.

In the art to which the present invention relates. a variety of different styles of closures for receptacles have been made, which closures contain a retaining seat for a sealing gasket and when the closure is piaced in position this gasket rests against the upper face of the mouth of the receptacle. and by reason of the differential pressures inside and outside of the receptacle is brought into iri'u engagement with said mouth, and a vacuum seal formed. Closures of this character have hitherto been designed for use with ]ars of the ordinary Mason type, but difliiculty has been experienced in sealing this type of jar, because of the irregularity 1n finish of the necks which would not always allow the gasket to be seated properly. Mason jars have been made over a long period of years by different makers and great variation in the finish of the neck is found. In fact the jars made by a single company will not be uniform owing to the imperfections of glass working machinery. It is to produce a cap which will successfully seal these imperfect jars that this cap has been designed, and this invention relates largely to a cap made of glass or porcelain.

A further difficulty exists in that when a Mason or other jar of similar type is filled with hot fruit or liquid, and the cap placed thereon, and the ring screwed down the gasket is compressed making a tight joint between the cap and jar. Further tightenin of the screw ring com resses the gasket sti 1 more, reducing the cu ical space within the jar which has the effect of trying to reduce the volume of the jar contents. If the jar has been well filled and the cap used has a center of convex formation there is little, or no, air space in the jar. A further tightening of the ring then has the effect of trying to compress a liquid, this results in a strong outward pressure by the jars contents which often pushes the gasket out at some point to relieve the ressure from within. To overcome this a lip is usually used, but in making the cap of glass if this lip is of any material height, it must be com aratively wide at the base to be of su cient strength to be practical. As the diameter of the cap cannot greatly exceed that of the neck of the jar because the cap must be received within the band or screw ring which fits over the neck of the jar, it is obvious that if the width of the lip is considerable, the width of the gasket seat must accordingly be restricted. making it necessary to use a comparatively narrow gasket.

if the jar has thin neck, the outer edge of the ,gasket is likely to rest at the extreme tcp of the neck. if filled with a hot iiquid and sealed under these conditions, the liquid on cooling will shrink, and the pressure from within will soon be replaced by a pressure from without 'caused by the partial vacuum fbrmed in the jar. Thus a gasket which is hield only by its outer edge will likely be pushed ofi' the top of the neck and out of its seat down into the jar, thus making an imperfect seal. This cannot be successfully overcome by increasing the diameter of that part of the cap which fits within the neck, because of thevariations in the thickness of the glass in the necks of different jars. It is to overcome the diii'iculties above noted that the closure of the present invention has been designed.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. 1, a receptacle 5 is there shown in the nature of an ordinary Mason jar. The jar terminates at its upper end in the usual neck 6 and has a rib 7 midway of the neck. Above the rib are formed threads 8, all of which are usual in the construction of j ars of this character. In illustrating the present invention a jar has been shown having a neck of relatively thin glass so that the top face 10a of this neck is relatively narrow.

The cap 10 of the present inventlon may be made of metal, porcelain or other 'material as desired, and of any desired size, but I consider it more desirable to make it of porcelain or glass. The cap is provided with a depending circular flange 11 and Surrounding this lange is a groove 12 whlch may be termed a gasket retaining groove. This groove is angular in formation, as will be more clearly seen from Figs. 3 and 4, and` the groove is bounded by a bottom or base wall 13, end wall 14, and outer wall 15. As will be seen from the drawings, the bottom wall 13 of the groove is in angular relation to the top of the cap. The wall 15 in fact constitutes a portion of an outer lip 16, and the lip, as w1ll be observed, is not of large dimensions and is of a somewhat pointed or toothed nature. `Within this groove is seated a gasket 17 of lany suitable size and`material.

When the device is initially positioned the gasket is placed within the oove as in Fig. 3. When the cap is forced 1n place the pressure rst exerted against the gasket will tend to force it out because of the compression of the jars contents and with the caps of the prior art, of which I am aware, portions of the gasket may be forced outward to an extent which will carry them ofl" the top of the neck and in consequence thereof an imperfect seal produced. In the present construction the sha e of the gasket recess is such as to tend to orce the gasket inward during 'the forcing of the cap into place.

,- l This tendency to force the gasket inward together with the influence exercised by the small lip 16 against outward movement of the gasket will offset the tendency of the gasket to move outward because of the compression of the jars contents, and, therefore, since this outward action against the gasket is counteracted upon the gasket will remain in place and will be compressed and forced under the lip 16, as in Fig. 4, and securely and firmly held down against the upper edge of the mouth of the receptacle, sealing the same in the desired manner.

By sloping the gasket seat, as shown, when the screw ring is tightened the gasket has a tendency to press in toward the flange 11, thus counter-acting `the outward pressure. By the use of a very small lip 15, a gasket nearly the entire width of the distance from the flange 11 to the outer edge of the cap can be used and the small lip 15 has a tendency to anchor the gasket over the outside of the neck as shown in Fig. 4, thus greatly increasing the efliciency of the seal, and successfully resisting the tendency of the inward air pressure to push the gasket into the jar.

As will be more clearly observed from Figs. 1 and 2, a slot 17 is provided in the ange 11, and an alined slot 18 is provided in the lip 16. By means of these slots when it isdesired to remove the closure, an implement in the shape of an ordinary fork or wire for instance, may be employed, and by forcing the wire or a tine of the fork through these slots the gasket is punctured and the seal broken.

As illustrated in the drawings, a screw cap 19 is provided which engages with the threads 8 of the jar. These caps, however, are common to devices of this kind. It is understood that the proportions of the gasket, gasket groove, etc., as shown in the drawings, are such as are better adapted to illustrate the features of the invention than to illustrate the proportions best adapted for practical use.

I claim:

1. A closure for receptacles of the character described, comprising a body having a groove, in its under face for receiving a gasket, said groove being of angular formation in cross section, and of greater depth toward the center of the closure kthan toward the outer edge thereof, and a relatively small sharp edged lip depending from the bottom wall of the groove and lying inside the outer edge of the groove and arranged to bite into the body of the gasket when the closure is in final position upon the receptacle, substantially as described.

2. A closure for receptacles of the character specified, comprising a body having a groove in its under face for receiving a gasket, and a relatively small lip depending 

